Optimize Your Facebook Page – Local Search
Facebook has entered local search…
If your Facebook fan page looks like the back of a closet you haven’t cleaned up (or even worse… visited) in a couple of years, now is the time to dust off the cobwebs and search through the pile of unworn clothes to Optimize Your Facebook Page.
With Facebook announcing that it’s focusing heavily on local services, everyone who has a local service needs to take note (yes… that’s all of us).
To get yourself ready for Facebook’s Local Search, your fan page needs these 10 things.
1. Customize your Vanity URL
Your Facebook fan page automatically comes with a fan page URL that looks like a bunch of letters and numbers. Change your URL to something easy to remember, preferably something close to your business’s name.
Here’s how you change it.
Visit this URL and enter the name you would like to claim.
https://www.facebook.com/username
*** Remember, usernames can’t be changed. Also, you will only see the option to add a vanity URL if you have more than 25 likes.
2. Add useful information and keywords to your description
Not only do search engines love keywords but we can only assume (for now) that Facebooks’s new search engine will also operate using keywords. When describing your product or services, make sure you pepper your description with the same keywords you put on your website as well as including your URL.
Special Tip
Use a 160-character or less description so that when people search for your fan page your whole description shows up in the search engine. This will work similarly to a meta description tag.
3. Include your phone number, address and hours
Again, not only does Google use this information to search for your page, but Facebook’s search will also use this to help potential customers find exactly what they are looking for.
4. Integrate your Launch27 Booking Plugin into your Fanpage
Since your goal is to get them to book, integrating your booking plugin removes a step for the end user. Haven’t integrated your plugin yet?
Here’s how to do it.
5. Use call-to-actions
If you aren’t going to integrate your booking plugin or don’t use Launch27, use your call to action buttons to get them from your Fanpage to your website.
6. Use video
Video both connects with your audience and assists with SEO. Make sure you are uploading your video natively to Facebook so that it autoplays and is easily shared instead of posting Youtube links.
7. Optimize images
Adding a great cover and profile image is important for a first impression. They can also be integral when sharing a message. Sharing a message like getting 25% off your first appointment can drive customers to book.
8. Add a coupon code
Use your tabs to add a coupon code when visitors sign up for your newsletter. You can add Facebook visitors to your funnel while incentivizing them to order.
9. Add reviews
This is perhaps the most important one when it concerns the new Facebook Search of Local Services. We have talked about the importance of reviews. We think your reviews on Facebook will get a lot more important as they are front and center when we search for local services. Make sure you are asking for reviews to grow your fan page.
10. Get the Verified Checkmark
You’ll recognize the blue verified checkmark for celebrities. While they have been in action for about a year, Facebook has recently rolled out a gray version for local businesses.
Here’s how to get one.
Is your Facebook Fanpage up to par? Now is the time to get it ready as Facebook Local Services begins to ramp up. Have any more tips or questions? Let us know in the comments.